The militant group’s Aamaq news agency issued an announcement about the death of Abu Jaafar Al-Maqdesi, calling him a martyr Egypt has been battling militants for years but the Sinai-based insurgency gained strength CAIRO: Daesh says one of the leaders of its affiliate in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has been killed. The militant group’s Aamaq news agency issued an announcement late on Sunday about the death of Abu Jaafar Al-Maqdesi, calling him a martyr. A photo of a young bearded man accompanied the report. Daesh says he was killed earlier this month, but did not disclose where or under what circumstances. Egypt has been battling militants for years but the Sinai-based insurgency gained strength after the 2013 overthrow of the country’s elected but divisive Islamist president, Muhammad Mursi. In February, Egypt launched a massive operation against militants in Sinai as well as parts of the Nile Delta region and the Western Desert, along the porous border with Libya.